Collapsology: what is it?

Collapsology is a multidisciplinary approach that focuses on thecollapse possible of our civilization. This term comes from the English collapse, which means to collapse, and from the Greek logos, speech. In France, collapsology is represented by Pablo Servigne, author with Raphaël Stevens of the book How Everything Can Collapse: A Short Manual of Collapsology for the Use of Present Generations, published in 2015. This work was prefaced by Yves Cochet, former Minister of the Environment.

Collapsology also finds its origins in the publication of the Meadows report in 1972, carried out by researchers at MIT, and commissioned by the Club of Rome. This report, whose title was The Limits of Growth (The limits of growth), already warned of the risks of a population growth and economic exponential on a planet whose resources are limited.

The Key Ideas of Collapse Thinkers

Collapsology is part of the idea that, during the Anthropocene, Man had a lasting and negative impact on the planet. In particular, it propagates the idea ofecological emergency, related torising temperatures on Earth, the multiplication of natural disasters and the collapse of biodiversity. Collapsologists link different crises together: energy, economic, environmental, geopolitical, democratic crises…

The conjunction of these crises could lead to the collapse of the industrial civilization, expected before 2050. This predicted catastrophe would lead many inhabitants to lack food, water and housing.

The announcement of this collapse is not necessarily based on scientific data, but also on intuitions. This is why collapsology is sometimes accused of not being a real science, but rather a movement of thought.

Collapsologists do not only announce a disaster, they also suggest ways to avoid it: evolution of agricultural systems (permaculture…), control of demography, local support systems, energy sobriety…